


Some Secrets aren't worth keeping

by Baneismydragon



Series: it was always you [4]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, God I have a problem don't I..., Identity Reveal, Kissing, Sleep Deprivation, These two are so dumb but we love them, dorks being dorks, more of my crack
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-09
Updated: 2016-11-13
Packaged: 2018-08-30 02:38:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8515345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Baneismydragon/pseuds/Baneismydragon
Summary: “Ladybug?” Adrien gaped at her, clearly at a loss as to why the heroine of Paris had just tumbled into his bedroom in the middle of the night. She wracked her brain for an excuse bluting out the first thing that her mouth was able to form. After all anything she could say would be better than this humiliation. “You’re not wearing a shirt.” Ok anything but that.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [hchano](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hchano/gifts).



>   
> Back in Sept. I went through a really bad slump- could barely write anything, and was dealing with a lot of personal awfulness. But in the midst of everything painful and awful I went onto tumblr and filled out an ASK request for one of my favorite artists that I follow, fully expecting nothing to come of it. It was one request out of dozens she would receive after all.  
> The next day was particularly terrible, I came home in tears planning to bury myself in blankets and binge netflix to keep the depression at bay, but I went to check my tumblr and to my shock and delight my sketch request was answered.  
> I was so pleasantly surprised- so grateful, and so genuinely happy to feel supported even by something so inconsequential, that instead of watching tv I sat down and wrote out the first 6,000 words of the story you are about to see. It was the first thing I had written in almost a month.

This was without a doubt the stupidest thing she had ever done in her life.

It was all Chat’s fault of course. Him with his stupid puns and his endearing smiles, and his sincere stories about his life outside of battling akumas.

She wasn’t heartless. Of course she had a great deal of affection for her dorky kitty. He was in his own way one of her best friends. She would even happily admit- to anyone that wasn’t him- that he was certainly easy on the eyes.

But none of these factors gave him the right to come crashing into her fantasies!

It had been a particularly good dream too.

She and Adrien had been walking together after a long day of photoshoots, the adrenalin of seeing her own work on display still rushing through her veins. Gabriel Agreste himself had complimented her on her impeccable work, insisting that she allow Adrien to escort her back to the family mansion for a celebratory dinner, leading to this glorious twilight stroll.

Never mind the fact that Marinette was quite certain that Adrien’s father wouldn’t allow him to walk five blocks, much less the hour and a half from the Parc de Bagatelle where the photoshoot had been held.

It was her dream, details like that weren’t important.

The point was, she had been having a fantastic, romantic walk with Adrien. They ambled on, side by side, talking about nothing of any real significance as a light rain began to fall.  

Adrien had immediately pulled her under the umbrella he had been carrying. (Marinete had learned long ago that dream Adrien had an endless supply of umbrellas that seemed to always materialize as needed.)

He held her close, sheltering her from the steady downpour around them.

She laughed, reaching out a hand to feel the cool raindrops against her skin and savoring the feeling of warmth radiating from the boy beside her.

Turning to make a witty comment about the weather, the words died in her throat as she drown in the dazzling green eyes staring down at her with undisguised adoration.

Her heart stopped as his hand delicately cradled her cheek, thumb lightly toying with a lock of her hair.

She swayed forward and her entire body transformed into a roaring flame as he mimicked her movements, closing the distance between them until they were no more than a hairs breath apart.

“Marinette.” He breathed her name like it was something sacred. “I’m going to kiss you.”

He waited for her to respond, a silent plea for permission, but she was unable to do anything but revel in the heat of his breath against her lips and the electric feel of him so near. His hand was still pressed against her face, the other resting lightly on the small of her back.

“Is this what you want?” He whispered, the sound barely audible over the gentle tapping of the rain.

With every ounce of will she had she nodded.

This lips met in a firework of emotions. It was as though the world was spinning and they were at the center, the one constant eternal truth in a whirlwind of chaos.

He pulled away far too soon, but even with her eyes closed she could feel the ecstatic grin lighting his face and her heart soared.

“I love you so much Princess.”

“I love you too Chat.” She sighed, opening her eyes and smiling up at her partner.

Marinette’s subsequent screams upon bolting awake in her room had been enough to rouse both of her parents from their bedroom two floors below. She had awkwardly fumbled through an excuse about waking up to find a giant spider on her face, prompting her mother to roll her eyes and her arachnophobic father to hurry off in search of extra strength bug spray to coat the house with.

God damn that stupid cat and his stupid hair and her traitorous brain that somehow thought that messing with her dreams wouldn’t result in absolute disaster.

It really was all Chat’s fault.

If he hadn’t weaseled his way into what should have been a perfectly lovely dream she would not have been awake for the last five hours after an already stressful and sleep deprived week. If she had gotten sleep she would never have transformed in the hopes of wearing herself out. Most importantly, she NEVER would have rushed over to the overprotected fortress that was the Agreste mansion to catch a glimpse of her one and ONLY crush.

If it hadn’t been for Chat she would not be here at all, and life would have continued on in a perfectly happy, normal way, where Adrien remained astonishingly ignorant of her many crush related blunders (stuttering aside) and her dignity as both Marinette and Ladybug remained blissfully intact.

How was she supposed to know that the window that she peered into would be unlocked and would swing open causing her to topple forward into Adrien’s room?

There was definitely no way she could have guessed that her wonderful, desirable, and apparently insomnia ridden classmate would be awake at the god awful hour of four in the morning playing some video game or other. In the dark no less.

No one could have predicted that in her very ungraceful flailing as she fell to the floor she would manage to upend an entire coffee table with a loud crash.

Nope, there was no way she could have known any of this, so it was entirely Chat’s fault that the she was now lying against the plush carpeting of the Agreste mansion staring sheepingly up at a very confused and horrifyingly-fantastically- underdressed Adrien.

“Ladybug?” Adrien gaped at her, clearly at a loss as to why the heroine of Paris had just tumbled into his bedroom in the middle of the night.

She wracked her brain for an excuse bluting out the first thing that her mouth was able to form. After all anything she could say would be better than this humiliation.

“You’re not wearing a shirt.”

Ok anything but that.

Even in the near darkness of the room she could see the flush that rushed over the boy in front of her.

“Oh! Sorry…” He stammered. “I wasn’t expecting…” His eyes were wide as he took in the sprawling mess of a girl on his floor. “I’ll go grab one.”

Great. Marinette scolded herself savagely. Not only had she managed to embarrassed herself further, she had also managed to ruin the view.

The lights switched on and she could hear Adrien rummaging around his closet as she pulled herself to her feet. Perhaps she could make a hasty retreat and go throw herself off the Eifel tower.

“Well that was really loud I should probably…”

“It’s fine!” Adrien interrupted, rushing back over while haphazardly pulling on a tee-shirt. Boo. “No one is home except for me and Gorilla and he would sleep through an Elephant stamped,” he explained hurriedly. “Please don’t go.”

He looked so desperately hopeful that all thought of leaving disappeared. He was so endearingly cute with a light blush staining his cheeks. Marinette couldn’t resist a small smile as she glanced at the rumpled tee he had donned. A picture of a grinning cartoon cat was doing some sort of dance and the words ‘I’m the cat’s meow’ were spelled out in stylized cursive. She thought about asking him where he got it so she could grab one for Chat for Christmas. Then she remembered that it was the stupid cat’s fault that she was in this mess and he didn’t deserve any presents.

“Ladybug is everything ok?” Adrien asked nervously.

Marinette shook her head and tried to focus.

“Yeah everything fine,” she said. She had made her bed and now she was going to have to lie in it.

She swallowed. It wasn’t like opportunities to spend time alone with Adrien were falling at her feet. Perhaps this was a chance to finally make some progress on wooing her hopefully future husband.

Besides, if she failed spectacularly at flirting with him while transformed she could just avoid seeing him in this form for the rest of eternity.

She took a deep breath and tried for a flirtations smile. “So come here often?”

Adrien’s nose crinkled and his lips pursed into a puzzled frown.

“Um…” Adrien raised an eyebrow, “I live here?”

Marinette could feel every inch of her skin flushing with mortification. Why did she allow herself to speak?

This was it, the lowest of low points. Ladybug was no longer allowed within 50 meters of anything Agreste ever again. If this mansion caught fire Chat could come put it out.

 “I was trying to flirt with you.” She moaned, figuring being honest about her own pathetic-ness couldn’t hurt anything at this point.

“What?”

“You know it was one of those terrible pickup lines like Chat uses all the time,” she confessed looking anywhere but at the shell-shocked boy.

“Oh my god… you know don’t you?” Adrien said as he began pacing nervously back and forth. “I mean you must know otherwise why would you…” He trailed off, and suddenly he was right in front of her, their noses almost touching and her hands gripped in his own. Marinette’s mouth hung open in a silent scream as Adrien’s eyes bore into her own.

“Look, I know that this probably wasn’t what you were expecting. I mean this whole time we’ve been so close to each other and we didn’t even know it, but now we do know, and I need you to know that I love you.”

“WHAT????”

“I know that you probably don’t take me seriously but I really mean it, I love you more than anything else in this world and I have never-”

“You LOVE ME??”

“Well yeah, I thought that was kind of obvious considering-”

“How is the fact that you LOVE ME supposed to be OBVIOUS?”

“But I thought-”

“Oh my God, oh my God…” Marinette began chanting, pulling at her pigtails and frantically trying to get her breathing under control.

“Ladybug?” Adrien asked hesitantly, reaching out to place a gentle hand on her shoulder. She yelped at the contact and he immediately pulled back. “Sorry, I didn’t mean…” He looked at her questioningly. “You really don’t know do you?”

“Know what?”

His mouth opened but no sound came out. For a few seconds he just stood and stared at her, his features twisting in some bizarre internal conflict. Eventually he let out a weary sigh, his shoulders drooping slightly.

“I thought you know that… that um… that I have a ridiculously large crush on you.” He finished at last, eyes trained on the floor as he mumbled out the last part in a defeated monotone.

“Oh,” Marinette stammered, “no I, I didn’t actually know that.”

“I’m sorry. You probably think I am completely crazy now,” he sighed.

“No! Of course not, you’re perfect everything about you is perfect. I’m the crazy one who is breaking into your room at 4 in the morning.”

“Yeah, I kind of meant to ask, what are you doing here at 4 in the morning?”

“Uhhhh….” Marinette struggled to think of anything that she could say that wouldn’t make her sound like a complete stalker. ‘I came here because I freaked out over having a dream about my partner when I am already in love with you’ wasn’t going to cut it. Neither was ‘I came here to stare at you because I am so in love with you I can’t form coherent sentences around you most days.’ Although to be fair he had already confessed his love to her so maybe there was a chance that option wouldn’t end in total disaster.

Adrien’s face had twisted back into that adorable little pout of confusion and Marinette realized she was still letting out a long half strangled hum.

Ok Marinette you can do this, she thought to herself. Don’t get distracted by what he said, think of a reason, any excuse will do- rescuing a kitten, false alarm akuma attack, you lost a bet and had to sneak into a celebrity’s house, just say anything.

“I really want to make out with you.”

“Wait, What!?!?!?!” Adrien squawked.

OK Anything but that.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you who didn't read the prequel fic- To Make her Smile, this chapter might surprise you. ^_^ Again you don't HAVE to read the original for this story to make sense, but if you are wondering about Adrien's lack of obliviousness it's because this is technically part 2 of the story. 
> 
> Enjoy and check out the notes at the end for a special announcement/giveaway!

Adrien expected that any second now his eyes would open and he would wake up.

Ladybugs most recent statement rang over and over in his ears _. I really want to make out with you, I really want to make out with you._

The girl in question turned a truly impressive shade of red as she began babbling wildly, her arms flailing in a dizzying pattern around her head.

“Did I say make out? I mean hang out! Cause we should totally hang out more right? Not that I wouldn’t make out with you but that’s totally not the point! The point is that I meant hang out! Cause what sort of crazy person would ask to make out with someone they have only technically met like 3 times? HAHAHAHA!”

Adrien stared at the babbling superheroine.

If he had any doubts about his _Ladybug is in fact Marinette_ theory, they were gone now.  He knew that awkward half grimace half smile, that intense red flush that only ever seemed to happen in his presence. In fact looking at her now, decked out in red spots refusing to meet his eye and forcing out an unconvincing laugh, he was amazed that it had taken him this long to figure it out.

“Why would you want to make out with me?”

Oh dear god had he actually said that out loud?

Given the high pitched whine that sounded from Ladybug yes he clearly had. Ladybug seemed to shrink in on herself, hands clasp behind her back, skin somehow managing to turn an even deeper shade of red.

Adrien still clearly had not gained proper control over his own mouth because before he could stop himself he continued, “you don’t even like me.”

Her demeanor instantly changed. “Oh Adrien, of course I like you.”

Adrien felt his heart stop as Ladybug stepped forward and tentatively reached out to trace her fingers along his jawline. He leaned into the touch and heard a soft gasp. He wasn’t sure who it was from.

She pulled her hand away but this time continued to hold his gaze.

“If- if you like me then why do you… I mean why did you…” Adrien realized that there was no good way to phrase what he was thinking without giving away a lot of things that he theoretically shouldn’t know. “You didn’t seem to like me very much a few seconds ago,” he said lamely. This time he was the one to break eye contact.

“Well,” she said softly, her Ladybug confidence clearly kicking back in in light of his own insecurity, “it’s not every day your crush tells you that he is in love with you.”

His eyes flew back to her face.

Oh.

Oh…

Well that would explain… a lot actually.

“You… you have a crush on me?” Adrien asked stupidly, months of interactions with his shy classmate suddenly taking on a whole new context.

“Yes,” she confessed shyly, eyes sparkling with a hopeful gleam that made his chest feel tight.

He swallowed thickly and wondered when the temperature in the room had gotten so oppressively hot.

“What about Chat Noir?”

Adrien knew that he shouldn’t ask. It was sneaky and manipulative and would almost assuredly come back to bite him later.

“Chat?” Ladybug said, her vermillion complexion returning in full force and her voice rising about an octave in pitch, “oh no no no. Absolutely not, there is nothing going on between me and Chat! Never. Wouldn’t even dream of it. Nope. Not me.”

She turned away from him, walking over to his desk and idly examining his assorted pile of books and knickknacks.

Adrien felt his heart drop.

She didn’t like Chat. It wasn’t horribly surprising. Her fangirling over him the few times they had interacted while he was transformed and she wasn’t aside, Marinette had never given the impression that she was particularly interested in his alter ego. And Ladybug… well, he had been on the receiving end of her constant rejection for months. No it wasn’t a shock that she had no romantic attachment to his feline alias.

It still stung to hear.

A part of him had hoped that maybe the only reason she never seemed to respond to his flirtations was that she was already in love with well… him. That maybe there was at least some part of her that felt a little torn over liking someone else. Well, in a manner of speaking.

Given the vehemence of her denial that seemed rather unlikely.

However, a small voice in the back of his mind, one that sounded uncomfortably like his father, was whispering that nothing ever got accomplished by wasting opportunities.

Maybe she didn’t like Chat, but she still liked Adrien enough to have a crush on him. And it wasn’t like Adrien and Chat were two different people, so technically she DID like Chat even if she didn’t know it yet. And it isn’t like she needed to KNOW that he was Chat. Not right now. He could just keep that a secret until she had time to warm up to the idea.

He could spend time with her away from battles and patrols, doing normal things like playing video games and watching movies. He could prove that there were good together.

Then after an appropriate amount of time he could confess that he was also her leather-clad partner and it wouldn’t be so bad.

Like after they were married.

Ignoring everything in his head that was screaming that he was probably making a terrible mistake and setting himself up for a lonely and miserable life, Adrien frantically struggled to find anything he could say to get the conversation back on its very promising, if complicated, track.

“Well in that case, I suppose we can make out if you want to.”

Ok anything but that.

There was a loud thunk as the book that she had been holding dropped to the floor.

Adrien was positive that his face was flushing as badly as his Lady’s had been earlier. Possibly worse. Clearly he couldn’t handle this. It was 4:00 in the morning, he was sleep deprived. He wasn’t in any state to be making decisions.

Plagg was probably laughing himself to death in whatever hiding spot he was sequestered off in.

He needed to just be honest about everything, consequences be damned.

“I am so sorry, I don’t know why I said that. God I am such and idiot. Look Ladybug I should probably just tell you that-“

Every rational though he had disappeared as Ladybug surged forward and smashed her lips against his.

It was clumsy, awkward, wet, and dear god in heaven if it wasn’t the single greatest thing he had ever experienced in his life.

She started to pull away embarrassed by her forwardness, but Adrien clamped his arms around her waist, tilting his head slightly and leaning into the kiss.

It didn’t take long for shyness to give way to instinct as they coaxed and teased at each other’s lips.

The kisses seemed to drag on into an eternity. Her arms wrapping around his neck, gloved fingers burying themselves into his hair.

She let out a moan as he hesitantly nibbled at her lower lip, opening her mouth and sliding her tongue past…

Well that escalated quickly.

His knees grew weak and he faltered. The additional weight of Ladybug still wrapped around him propelled him backwards until his was stumbling, topping over the arm of his couch and landing with a soft thud.

They broke apart, gasping for air.

“Ma- my Laaaa-dybug,” Adrien choked as she peppered soft kisses along his neck and jaw, clearly not the least bit deterred by their new, more intimate, position.

“Adrien,” she sighed dreamily before once again capturing his lips in another searing kiss.

 _On second thought_ , Adrien told himself through his lust filled haze, _maybe a few secrets aren’t such a bad thing._

…

 

The sun was just beginning to filter through the windows when Plagg emerged from his hiding spot.

After two and a half loud and obnoxious hours of canoodling, they finally seemed to have warn themselves out.

Shaking his head ruefully at the sight of the two dozing teens curled up together on the couch, he rummaged around the bottom desk draw through Adrien’s emergency junk food supply.

Locating a large chocolate chip cookie, he carried his prize over to the coffee table and waited.

Sure enough, it was no more than a few minutes before a wave of pink light flooded the room and an exhausted Tikki floated down to land beside him.

“Well,” Plagg drawled pushing the cookie over to his partner, “you certainly got an emotional one this time didn’t you.”

“Nice to see you too Plagg,” Tikki said biting into the treat. “This is… is this from Marinette’s parent’s bakery?”

“Yep. Nothing but the best in this household. I will say that for the boy’s father, he does have good taste for a psychopath.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing worth worrying about right now.”

“Plagg…”

“You’re the one who is all about keeping everything so secretive.”

“Plagg!”

Both kwami’s fell silent as Adrien shifted fitfully in his sleep.

“Careful,” Plagg said with a smirk, “he’s a light sleeper. Ears like a cat.”

“Marinette takes after you. She sleeps like a rock,” Tikki replied, although she had dropped her voice down to a whisper.

 “Well you’re going to have to find a way to get her up and out of here before Adrien wakes back up.” Plagg said.

“I would have thought you would be all for just letting them wake up like this. It might even be time anyways, especially since Adrien already knows.”

“No,” Plagg said forcefully, “she clearly isn’t ready for that and I guarantee that my pathetic lovesick kitten is already beating himself up over the fact that she wants nothing to do his other half.”

“Plagg,” Tikki scolded mildly, “she is a teenage girl who doesn’t know how to handle her own conflicted emotions. You know full well that her denial about having feelings for Chat Noir was obviously false.”

“You’re right, I know better. But he doesn’t. Given her behavior tonight if she wakes up and freaks out he will sink into a pit of self-loathing based guilt. We’ll end up moving to America to live out his days slaving away as a fashion icon workaholic in a desperate attempt to win over daddy’s affection.”

“Why Plagg I didn’t know you cared so much.” Tikki said knowingly.

“Of course I care,” Plagg muttered, “besides American cheese is underwhelming at best.”

“If you think it’s for the best I am sure I can manage to help her sneak out of here.”

“Thanks.”

“They won’t be able to hide it forever though. Not at this rate.” Tikki stated, finishing off the last of the cookie and casting a sidelong glance at her mate.

“I know. But let’s just let them have this one. Save the drama for another day.”

“You really are such a romantic,” Tikki smiled leaning against Plagg and petting his ears with her paw.

“Don’t tell anyone.”

“I never do.”

“Are you energized enough for another transformation or do I need to raid the kids stash for some more food.”

“No, I’m good.”

“You are probably going to need to get out of here soon, right?” Plagg asked looking out at the lightening sky.

“Well,” Tikki replied hesitantly, “Marinette’s parents won’t be checking up on her for at least another 3 hours, and they were both pretty exhausted. We can let them sleep a little but longer.”

Plagg smiled and nuzzled her affectionately. “I missed you too Tikki.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you have chapter 2! Next chapter in the next 2-3 days ^_^ 
> 
> NOW- there is one, small but definitely there plot hole/inconsistency in this story. {not a grammar or typo style thing more of a "he was wearing a coat in this scene and now suddenly he isn't" kinda deal. It was minor enough that I didn't feel like correcting or explaining it away and instead am issuing you a challenge dear readers! Whoever can accurately point out my mistake will get a free Holiday present from me- either a drawing request, a 1-2k word fic of their choice of topic and pairing if applicable *just no graphic violence or non-consensual stuff plz* or one of my MLB craft items *I will request shipping be covered if it's more than 5$* 
> 
> Good luck and please comment and review!!!

**Author's Note:**

> OMG Ladrien.  
> For those people wondering: This is the third and FINAL timeline sequel to To Make You Smile. 
> 
> You do not have to have read the original story or any of the other stories for this to make sense (Although you will have a better idea about a few things if you read TMYS first.) 
> 
> I hope you enjoy- there will be a new chapter every 3 days until this is over. I am not going to hold back on chapters as this is meant to be a cheer you up story and long waits are not cheerful. ^_^;;;  
> (Also for people following my other stories I have a bunch of updates to post so don't dispair that I have forgotten you!!) 
> 
> As always please read and review and I wish you all love and happiness!


End file.
